Disclaimer:

Most of the Characters contained in this story are not mine but are borrowed from the 1970s series The Tomorrow People. They are the property of the creators and copyright holders. The characters Professor McDrew, Stewart, and Sayian are taken from the TP books 'Three in Three' and 'Four in Three' by Roger Price.

Any other characters, planets and cultures are the sole creation and property of Jacqueline Newman. No one may post this story to any web page without my permission.

Personal comment: I would like to thank Megan Freeman and Ariana Brill for betareading this fan fict.

Comments are very welcome. If you enjoy the story please let me know.

Jack Newman
jack@effdee.demon.co.uk

For those who want to read this story in isolation let me fill you in with a few background details...

The year is 1998... Stephen has been the joining partner (husband) of Angerianaasusilicana, the Premier of the planet Manyarner, for 14 yr. The premier (sometimes referred to as the *one*) is both the political and religious leader of her planet. She is a shape changer and temporal being with highly developed telepathic and telekinetic powers. They have four children who, due to their Manyaynern accelerated growth rates, are fully grown and do not feature in this story.

John and Elizabeth have been married for 9 years and have two children, Edward (8) and Charlotte (5).

The Tomorrow People have been granted much closer ties to the galactic federation since Angie became so influential to the One Mind. This group is the closest thing the Galactic Trig has to government. Various Tomorrow People have held ambassadorial and diplomatic roles within the federation for many years and they are frequently invited to attend committees and conferences held on the Trig. On this occasion they have been requested to take part at the 'Twentieth Closed World' convention, to discuss the progress of their respective world towards open status. This convention was held on the Earth equivalent date of 22-23 December.

We pick up the story when unforeseen circumstances are affecting the TP's return journey to Earth....

December 23rd 1998

The Galactic Trig humanoid teleporation receiving station.

"What do you mean our return journey has been cancelled!" Barked John gruffly.

The technician seated by the teleporter's control systems shifted uneasily in his seat. "I am sorry ambassador but the orders of the high council are quite precise, no one may leave the Trig for the next few rotations. There is just too much hyperspace interference since the Jamplaythese star system went nova, it is far too dangerous to risk long distance teleports with that much radiation in the vicinity!" To make his argument more final he stood and stepped away form the console. "I know you and your party were requested to attend the 'Twentieth Closed World Convention' and that your return transporter beam has been scheduled for many cycles, but that star was not predicted to flare up for another two years... I am sorry there is nothing more I can do." With that the technician touched his arm gently, and against all accepted Trig protocol, vanished.

Stephen, who had stood silently all this time, watching John's rage grow, tried to think of something appropriate to say. "Don't worry John, TIM can take care of the lab and we'll be back in a few days..."

"It's not the lab I'm worried about." Replied John turning to look across the huge hall towards Liz and the others standing patiently waiting, anxious expressions on their faces. "It's the kids... I promised Eddy and Charlotte that we would be home for Christmas. I also promised my parents that we would spend it with them!" He let out a long deep sigh. "Oh well, no use putting it off any more" He grinned at Stephen. "Looks like we are stuck here for Christmas after all, let's go and break the news."

The two men strode side by side towards the waiting group of Tomorrow People.

Upper level public refectory , two hours later...

Mike was busy watching the passing aliens... a rather odd looking lump of jelly with long tentacles and huge eyes slowly moved towards them...

'I wonder if it is male or female?' Mused Mike, grinning to himself.

The creature lifted a large sticky appendage and slapped Mike on the head. (my race does not have specific gender as you know of it...) pathed the creature. Then turning to address the others it continued. (Admissions and relocation assistant Rolant at your service.)

Mike suddenly felt the sharp gaze of John as he realised that the assistant was in fact a telepath and had read his unshielded thoughts... He also yelped as the toe of Hsui Tai's shoe jabbed into his leg beneath the table...

Rolant continued. (But that is of no consequence here.... I regret to inform you that there is no available accommodation for your party at this time... Due to the nature of the recent emergency the Trig is full to capacity!)

"What are we going to do?" Said Liz turning to John. "We can't stay here for much longer." She looked around at the multitude of alien creatures filling every available table in the refectory.

Charlotte, was playing with Bron, a telepathic creature rescued from the planet Barran six by Stephen many years earlier, on the floor at her mother's feet. She was apparently oblivious to the telepathic conversation with the Trig's relocation assistant. Suddenly she lifted herself up and floated at eye level with Liz... "But mummy Santa won't find us all this way from Earth..." It was obvious that the little girl was close to tears.

Elizabeth plucked her daughter from the air and cradled her in her arms..." Don't worry Charlie. Santa Clause will find you no matter where you are."

She looked across at John and her eyes asked the unspoken question... What would they do now?

There was suddenly a murmur in the crowd, and the throng of beings which

surrounded them parted to reveal Angie and Stephen resplendent in the official ceremonial robes of the Manyarnern people... The other Tomorrow People looked on in amazement as Stephen ushered Rolant aside with an air of natural authority...

"May your senses be enlightened and your dreams be fulfilled." He said smiling and winking to each of them in turn.

Rolant was obviously in awe of this very public spectacle... and placed his many tentacles on his head and over his eyes... He then made a grovelling gesture that Liz could only interpret as a bow.

(I beg the humble forgiveness of the Manyarnern Premier and her joining partner.) It pathed hesitantly. (I was not aware that the *One* was part of this party.)

Angie stared at the quivering lump before her and smiled. (For obvious security reasons the precise movements of the *Premier* of one of the Federation's founding worlds is not made public. I forgive you for the oversight and request that you find myself and my companions accommodation right away.)

Rolant uncovered his eyes and using his tentacles ushered the Tomorrow People to stand. (Follow me please the Manyarnern Ambassadorial suite will be made available immediately.)

The aliens around them, kept a respectful distance, but looked on enviously as John, Liz, Edward and Charlotte, Mike, Hsui Tai and Andrew were led through the crowd towards the nearest moving walkway. Angie and Stephen held hands as they fell into step behind them, as they walked their shimmering attire slowly melted back into the form of jeans and T shirts...

The Manyarnern Ambassadorial Suite
4 Hours Later.

Liz slowly closed the door on the room where the children slept. They were quite exhausted after the excitement of the day and had quickly fallen into a deep sleep.

Sitting beside John on the couch she looked around her. "It's so disappointing to be here and not back home for Christmas." She said, to no one in particular.

Andrew looked up from the key pad upon which he had been sketching. "Yes, and I had such wonderful presents picked out for you all too. I guess they will have to wait until we get back."

"Presents!" Exclaimed Liz, then turning to face her husband. "John. What are we going to do about presents for the kids... you know how much Christmas means to them."

Mike and Hsui Tai entered arm in arm from the busy corridor. "Wow!" said Mike. "This place is really jumping tonight. You should see the arguments going on at the off world traders market, the price of a seat on a transport ship has tripled in the past hour!"

"Thank you Mike," replied John jumping to his feet, "that may just be the answer to all our problems."

"Your not going to pay their inflated prices just for seats on a ship?" Asked Stephen "I thought you were more sensible than that!"

John lifted a cushion and threw it good naturdly at his friend. "Of course not... But if the market is still open maybe they can sell us more than just tickets out of here."

Stephen looked puzzled. "What else do we need?"

It was Liz who threw the cushion this time. "If you haven't noticed we have two young children in there expecting Santa Claus to visit them and tomorrow is Christmas day!"

Liz and John headed rapidly for the door.

"Can we come too?" Asked Hsui Tai. "We need to get things a well." Mike and Andrew stood and followed the older TP's out of the door.

"But what about me?" Said Stephen to a now empty room.

(You can stay and baby-sit.) Pathed Liz (You do remember what it's like to be a parent?)

Stephen slumped down onto the couch and put his feet up on the coffee table. (Of course I do!) he responded then to himself he mumbled. "But Angie and I had plans..."

One hour Later....

Angie bent down and kissed her partner tenderly on the cheek. 'He looks so peaceful sleeping there on the couch.' She thought. 'Seems a shame to wake him.'

With a faint groan Stephen opened his eyes and looked up into her smiling face.

"Wake up sleepy head." She said "I need to speak to you."

Stephen slowly lifted himself up and swung his feet back onto the floor. "I must have dozed off... How long? What is the time now?" He said with a yarn.

Straightening his mop of tangled hair with her fingers she explained to him that John and Liz had called her to apologise for ruining their evening over an hour ago... when she had failed to get any telepathic response to her calls she had teleported over to find him sound asleep.

"Oh! Sorry," he said apologetically. "I was more tired than I thought after sitting on that damned committee all day."

"It's OK, you were very patient. I know how much you hate all those official engagements and adherence to protocol. I'll be glad to get back home too."

Stephen stood and walked across to the food dispenser. He ordered coffee and cake then returned to sit beside her on the sofa. "I got lumbered with baby-siting."

"I know." Said Angie, grabing the cake from his plate and taking a huge bite, before he could stop her. She grinned. "What amazes me is how much importance John and Liz place on this silly Earth tradition of giving and receiving presents."

"It's not silly!" Said Stephen. "Christmas is a magical time where everyone is happy and they give gifts to express their affection for one another. The tradition of Father Christmas dates back into biblical times when a wealthy man gave alms to the poor to relieve their suffering. Of course no one really believes in Father Christmas these days but all kids have that hope."

Stephen looked at his wife. She was developing a familiar expression on her face, one that he had seen many times whenever she was plotting something. He tried to reach out to touch her consciousness but was met with heavy shielding.

(Oh no you don't.) She pathed sensing his presence in her mind. (This is a special secret and I don't want to spoil the surprise. Can you wait here until the others get back? I need to go and do something.)

Stephen nodded his head reluctantly. He knew that once his joining partner's mind was made-up their was no swaying her from her actions. (You go and do whatever it is that is so important and make sure mine is a good one!)

(Your what ?) Asked Angie innocently

(Just make sure you are back in time for the Christmas party in the morning) He said as she headed out the door. (I love you...)

( I love you too.)

Once outside in the corridor Angie concentrated hard, a brilliant blue light appeared a few metres in front of her and began to grow in intensity as the barriers between space and hyper-space were blurred.

Since she had been told that she was the *One*, a special kind of being born amongst her people once every millennium, and capable of summoning great amounts of psionic energy in order to manipulate both matter and time, she had hardly used the powers at her disposal. Instead she preferred to live a simple life amongst the Tomorrow People. 'But there are certain privileges that come with this power,' she thought to herself... as the vortex of the worm hole opened before her, and her consciousness left the familiarity of her own space-time and slipped into a different dimension.

Somewhere, somewhen...

Angie landed on the hard wooden floor with a bump. Standing she rubbed her sore buttocks. The room she had slid into appeared to be constructed of wood. It was brightly decorated with materials of every colour which hung like garlands from the ceiling. In the centre of the room was a wooden work bench upon which were strange looking shapes which were familiar yet...

"Can I help you?" The booming voice made her jump. "Well, I haven't got all day... I am a very busy person. What is your wish?"

The voice came from a large wooden seat across the room, which was silhouetted against the glow of a roaring log fire. The person who had spoken to her could not be seen over it's tall ornately carved back.

"I am Angerianaasusilicana of Manyarner." She said stepping forward.

"I know who you are, although how a mortal being like yourself can exist out of your usual space-time dimension does puzzle me. Please my child come and sit with me a while I get little company from the mortal realms these days."

Angie walked across to the seat. "Are you the time guardian they call S.C.?"

The figure turned to face her, and she was surprised to see an old man with thick white beard, his chubby features were warm and welcoming and his complexion had a red glow from sitting too close to the heat of the fire.

"Now that's a name I haven't heard in years... I haven't been to the hall of the time guardians in.... oh so many centuries I can hardly remember..."

"I know." Replied Angie settling herself down on the remarkably comfortable wooden seat. "Peter once told me how you disobeyed the direct orders of the guardians and interfered in the future of a developing world, and how you were stripped of your time matrix and banished here to this in-between place."

S.C. sighed and shrugged. "Well you seem to know a lot about me, so you also know that I no longer have any dealings with sentient, mortals... I suggest you go back where you came from."

"Come now, I don't believe that an immortal like yourself could resist meddling in the affairs of man, especially the planet you were responsible for changing. From the fables and legends of the Earth I think you have been tinkering in the lives of the sentient mortals much more than you admit to."

For a moment the time guardian's face showed a flash of anger but this soon melted away into a broad happy smile. "Well, girl. You have me at a disadvantage. Peter seems to have told you a great deal, but I am still puzzled how you can exist here with me are you also a time guardian?"

"The answer to your question" She began, feeling strangely at home in this unfamiliar place. "Is that I am the Manyarnern Premier... *The One*, and I am a temporal being like yourself, or so people keep telling me, I can manipulate time and space if I choose to." She smiled and snuggled closer to the fat jolly man. "I have come here today to ask you a favour... a very big favour."

"Well, my child, you psionic credentials do you credit... I will do all I can to help. What exactly is this *big favour*?"

Galactric Trig
Manyarnern Ambassadorial Suite
25th December 1998

9.30 am.

Charlie and Eddy could hardly contain themselves. They pulled on their clothing as they raced across the living area and into their parents bedroom. "He's been... He's been." They shouted in unison as they jumped onto the bed and pulled at their parents arms to wake them.

"What...Who?" Said John sleepily. "Can't you kids give us a little peace it's Christmas morning."

Charlie poked her fathers face mischievously and sat upon his legs. "But Daddy, he's been here... Santa has been here."

John pulled himself up into a sitting position and lifted the little girl, placing her back on the coverlet beside him. His legs had already begun to ache as the circulation was stopped by the child's weight. 'You are growing up fast my girl' he thought to himself.

Liz had also sat up and Eddy eagerly handed her a silk robe. "Please Mummy come and see. Father Christmas has been here, really, truly. You've just got to see."

Liz looked at John and they smiled. "Well it is Christmas morning we might as well get up."

Walking into the living area the scene was amazing. Mike, Hsui and Andrew were already standing aghast at the spectacle before them. There was a huge spruce pine Christmas tree in the centre of the room, it was ornately decorated with coloured baubles of gold and silver. The room was bathed in twinkling fairy lights of every shade and hue imaginable.

On one side was a large circular table laid with eighteen place settings ... Steaming Christmas food filled the centre and the air was pungent with the smell of spices and candy.

Eddy and Charlotte pulled at Elizabeth and John's hands as they eagerly led them forward towards a huge pile of brightly wrapped presents sitting at the base of the tree.

"Where the hell did all this lot come from!" Said John for once almost lost for words.

They all looked around as the main door opened and in piled a throng of people all laughing and singing together. Familiar faces and thoughts filled the room.

"Carol!" Exclaimed John. "What the..."

Leaving her husband, Narscissa, and her son Nova, to greet the others, Carol crossed the room and held a bunch of mistletoe above John's head. She turned to Liz "With your permission?" She said.

Liz nodded and Carol kissed John quickly on the cheek. "Merry Christmas." She smiled. "Now hadn't you better get dressed the other's will be here shortly."

"Others?" Asked Liz, but there was no time to explain, the door opened again and Professor McDrew and his son Stewart entered the room. The Tomorrow People had not seen the their old friends since they had rescued them from the hands of various military groups back on Earth and dispatched them to the Trig via Kallinar.

They were followed into the room by Tricia, hand in hand, with Professor Cawston, and immediately behind them was Tyso and his close friend the ruler of the planet Saiyonara.

Hurrying back to the bedroom John and Liz dressed in stunned silence.

Later...

The food had been eaten, the egg nog drunk, the presents opened and lots of merriment had by all.

Taking Angie aside Stephen whispered into her ear. "This was all your doing wasn't it?"

"No actually it was not... It was Father Christmas." She replied flatly.

Stephen burst out laughing and the rest of the room fell silent. Looking around him he spoke to all present. "Come on Angie.. own up, stop kidding us around. You must have pulled some very official strings to get this lot transported here from Earth."

"Why wont you believe me? Santa Clause did all this for you..."

John looked up from where he sat on the sofa engrossed in the study of the archaeological artefact that he had received as a gift. "Come on now Angie, you are old enough to know there is no Father Christmas." He said jokingly.

"There is too!" Stated Eddy looking angrily at his father. "He is a Time Guardian who lives in another part of the universe that's all."

"What nonsense have you been filling my children's heads with now?" Demanded John.

"If you would lighten up sometimes and think with your heart instead of your head you could
appreciate the magic and wonder in the universe." Said Angie. "S.C. better known as Santa Clause, is a time guardian who was banished to another dimension for interfering in the development of a closed world! His metabolic rate is much faster than ours and there fore he can slip into our realm each Christmas Eve deliver presents and slip out again while to each of us only a few seconds have passed. My only interference in this matter is that I told him about how you were all stuck here through no fault of your own. He obviously felt that you had all been good enough to deserve these gifts."

John didn't know whether to believe Angie's far fetched tale but looked around at the expressions on the faces of his friends and family. "Not all of you as well? Don't tell me you believe this nonsense? " The happy gathering nodded in unison.

Liz placed her hand gently on John's arm. "It's not nonsense to those who want to believe." She said.

Laughing together the conversation slowly resumed and the room was once again filled with chatter.

Angie noticed John rise from the sofa to stand by the large tree and took this opportunity to speak privately to him. Holding a piece of mistletoe above his head she teasingly puckered her lips... "Can I have my Christmas kiss now?"

"Angeriana." Began John. "You never cease to amaze me!" And with this he cheerfully kissed her. Ashe did so his gaze was caught by something silvery flashing from within the branches of the tree. Reaching into the dense, ticklish, spines he retrieved a small thin metallic card, about four inches square. It was made of an alloy unfamiliar to him and had a three dimensional inscription etched into one side.

"What is it?" Asked Liz who now stood beside them both. "It looks like a holographic greetings card, I've seen them being sold in the Off World Market."

John turned it over in his hand and read the lettering. "Merry Christmas to TPDIS... What's tpdis?"

In a sudden movement Angie pulled the card from his grasp. "That was a mistake it shouldn't be here." She said defensively.

"What shouldn't be here?" Asked Stephen who had also joined them gathered around the tree.

Angie showed him the inscription on the card, and he gave a low whistle. "Oh that! but how?"

John did not look at all happy at being left out of some secret information. "Would you please tell me what's going on and what is tpdis?"

"Not what, who..." Said Angie "They are friends of mine from a parallel Earth in another dimension from us."

"Friends of yours from another dimension... ?" Asked John his eyebrows rising in disbelief.

Angie turned the silvery object over in her hands while she decided what to say next, then replacing the card into it's hiding place amongst the branches she continued. "John. You find everything that doesn't have concrete evidence hard to believe, like the existence of Santa Clause!" To make her point she motioned around the room. "All of this looks pretty real to me... Tpdis are a group of potential Tomorrow People waiting to break out on another Earth not so far from our own and what's more they all want to believe."

"Well if they are potential Tomorrow People then I for one wish them all a very Merry Christmas."
Said Liz.

"Me too." This came from Mike.

Hsui looked up from the carpet where she played with Eddy and Charlotte and smiled warmly at John.
"And me."

"And a Merry Christmas from me as well" Added Carol.

John cleared his throat. "Well I seem to be out numbered as usual." He said, a weak smile lighting up his face. "I wish all the people on tpdis, wherever they may, be a Very Merry Christmas.